December 2016
Mark’s five movement work for violin and piano,
Five Memos, received a British Composer Award at a ceremony at the British Film Institute in London. The annual British Composer Awards ceremony highlights the best compositions in the UK across Jazz, Choral, Sonic Art, Orchestral categories and beyond. You can listen to the ceremony on
BBC Radio 3’s Hear and Now.
November 2016

Mark is co-leading a new project at
Trinity Laban: the Creative Collective, a new opportunity for young artists looking to develop their own artistic work as composers and choreographers.
Mark is working alongside choreographer
Bethan Peters to mentor Creative Collective participants as they create new, innovative and challenging pop-up pieces that will be performed across Lewisham as part of the annual Lewisham Live Festival, and at the Tate Modern as part of the
Tate Exchange programme.
For more info click
here.
October 2016
Mark’s work
Five Memos has been shortlisted for the
2016 British Composer Awards.
‘The shortlist reflects just how much the richer our musical life is for the international musicians and artists who have settled here and who come here to study and to explore a rich global culture,’ said Ed McKeon, joint artistic director of the British Composer Awards. ‘In the process, music has become less tribal and more playful, and the same goes for audiences. It’s a great time to be listening to new music in the UK.’
‘This year Basca introduced a number of changes to the submissions and judging process to ensure the British Composer Awards are representative of the wealth and diversity of talent here in the UK,’ said
BASCA chair Crispin Hunt. ‘The resulting shortlist announced today is a great snapshot of the creative expression that is contemporary classical, jazz and sonic art.’
The winners in each category will be announced at the British Film Institute on 6 December 2016.
October 2016
In a recent review,
the Guardian gave Mark’s Debut Disc
Sudden Light four stars and described the disc as having
‘power, invention and subtlety’. The review noted the ‘
impact is a physical one: the systems Bowden sets up generate climaxes of great power, and his confidence in handling such large orchestral forces is unmistakable.’
October 2016
BBC Music Magazine has given Mark’s Debut Disc
Sudden Light four stars in its latest edition. The review noted that ‘
excellent performances by all involved do contemporary composer Mark Bowden proud. The energetic Lyra
, inspired by Philip Pullman’s bold protagonist in His Dark Materials
, is a particular highlight.’
September 2016
Mark's debut solo album
Sudden Light was released in September 2016 by
NMC. Available worldwide in all formats the disc displays Mark’s passion for orchestral writing and exploring its enormous timbral range.
The intoxicating
Lyra for cello and orchestra was described '
as a richly allusive work of considerable scope and ambition' by Seen and Heard International and was Mark’s first commission, as resident composer, for BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The solo cello part calls for a blistering technique and was written for
Oliver Coates, who performs on this recording.
Heartland, also commissioned by BBC NOW, was created as both a standalone percussion concerto and a ballet score for the
National Dance Company Wales. The Times said that the work '
bubbles with fluid, spicy rhythms and pretty celestial ruminations ... watching Julian Warburton play it was a fascinating show in itself’.
Sudden Light was inspired by Marcus du Sautoy’s book
The Music of the Primes and explores the play of consonance and dissonance through the overtones of the harmonic series.
As a contrast to the orchestral works on this album,
Five Memos is a light, airy interplay between violin and piano, performed beautifully by
Hyeyoon Park and
Huw Watkins.
To purchase the disc directly from NMC please click
here.
July 2016
For the fourth year, Mark led the
National Youth Orchestra of Wales Young Composers course this summer. For two weeks, six young composers from all over Wales worked closely with Mark to create new compositions which were performed by members of the orchestra. Concerts took place in Aberystwyth, Llandudno, St David’s City and Cardiff. To get a flavour of what happened on the course visit the
NYOW Facebook page.
July 2016
Mark’s
NMC Debut Disc is now available to
preorder. The disc features three of Mark’s orchestral works:
Lyra, for cello and orchestra featuring
Oliver Coates,
Heartland for percussion and orchestra, featuring
Julian Warburton and
Sudden Light, all performed by the
BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by
Grant Llewellyn. The disc also features Mark’s
Five Memos, recorded earlier in the year by the violinist
Hyeyoon Park and pianist
Huw Watkins. For more details, or to preorder the disc, click
here.
May 2016
In May, Mark visited the
Red House in Aldeburgh where Benjamin Britten lived and worked for the last two decades of his life for a short residency. The
Britten-Pears Foundation generously provided Mark with some time and space to undertake preliminary work and research for a new project with the novelist, poet and playwright
Owen Sheers. Watch this space for further news!
April 2016
In April the violinist
Hyeyoon Park and pianist
Huw Watkins recorded Mark’s
Five Memos for his forthcoming album as part of the
NMC Debut Disc series. The recording took place in the beautiful All Saints Church, Tooting. The disc will be released along with recordings of
Lyra,
Heartland and
Sudden Light in autumn 2016.
Click
here for more details.
March 2016
In April Mark travelled to Tongyeong in South Korea for the annual
ISCM World Music Days Festival as part of the
Tongyeong International Music Festival. The World Music Days Festival is organised each year by a different host and presents new music from all over the globe, showcasing the incredible diversity of musical practice in our time. Mark is the current chair of the British Section of the ISCM and represented the UK at the annual event. In 2016 the composer
Patrick Friel had his work
Once Upon An Alphabet for speaking pianist performed, which had been selected by the UK jury.
Click
here to see a short film about the 2016 World Music Days Festival.
March 2016
On March 5th 2016 Mark will be leading a day of workshops, concert and talks in Cardiff to celebrate a decade of CoMA's ground-breaking
Open Score project.
The Festival will be taking place in venues across the UK to promoting contemporary music created with a participative approach.
Open Score is a way of writing artistically challenging yet technically accessible music for flexible ensembles with amateur players.
Workshops will provide opportunities for singers and players to actively participate in new music. A conference and discussions will explore the role and future of inclusive contemporary music making. Performances by leading professional contemporary ensembles, CoMA groups and youth ensembles will provide a wide range of listening material.
For further information visit
CoMA to get involved register your interest by writing to
contact@sinfoniacymru.co.ukMarch 2016
Mark's choral work
Far to the Northward Lying will be performed by Cardiff University’s Contemporary Music Group on
Monday 1st March 7pm at
Cardiff University Concert Hall as part of a project exploring vocal music by living British composers. In this concert a particular emphasis on Welsh vocal music continues the ensemble’s preparation for a recording project in June 2016.
Tickets and further details
here.
February 2016
Following Mark's trip to Argentina last year the
BBC National Chorus of Wales recently premiered Mark’s Patagonia-inspired work
We Have Found a Better Land as part of the British Council’s
Patagonia 150 events. The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s
Afternoon on 3 on
Tuesday 23rd February.
Mark wrote an article for
theartsdesk.com about the experience of travelling to Patagonia to research ideas for the music.
You can
listen online for 30 days following the broadcast.
February 2016
Mark's short work for solo saxophone,
Parable, will be performed alongside other
Sinfonietta Shorts by Anna Meredith, Tom Coult, Samantha Fernando and Jordan Hunt at
Southwark Playhouse on
Tuesday 9th February at 7.30pm. The pieces will be accompanied by films created by
Central Saint Martins students made in response to the music through close collaboration with the composers and players. Further information
here.
Tickets: £10/£5
Box office: 0844 875 0073 or
onlineVenue: Southwark Playhouse, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD
January 2016
Mark's piano trio
Airs No Oceans Keep was recorded at
The Menuhin Hall by the
Fidelio Trio for
NMC Recordings last year for Mark's forthcoming
Debut Disc. The ensemble has become closely associated with the work and will perform it at a special
London Music Masters fundraising concert on
Tuesday 19th January 2016. For further details click
here.